What links the AIDS tombstone, instructions for building a nuclear attack shelter, a portrait of Napoleon and the infamous “45 minutes” Iraq dossier? They can all be found in the new British Library exhibition: Propaganda, Power and Persuasion.
The exhibition weaves together examples of propaganda from across the world, including wartime “black propaganda” designed to demoralise the enemy, public health information on AIDS, tuberculosis and nutrition, historical examples of rulers and nations using potent cultural symbols to legitimise their power, and modern critiques of state propaganda through social media. This intelligently constructed and teasingly provocative display piqued our interest here at Just, offering us a fresh perspective on the roots, development and impact of campaigns intended to convince, cajole and change behaviour.
As the exhibition highlights, “public health campaigns utilise methods similar to those more readily identified as propaganda. They use striking images and slogans, engender fear or exploit humour. Sometimes they demonise people or types of behaviour and habits”. It’s certainly true that the tools and techniques of political propaganda are widely used by healthcare communicators: we’re all always on the lookout for memorable ways to drive our health messages home, whether through powerful imagery, clever wordplay or thought-provoking insights. While we often have complex or nuanced messages to get across, the simple principles of propaganda are often our most powerful weapon: establishing a sense of authority through data and careful use of opinion leaders, demonstrating a popular consensus around a position and consistent message saturation are as useful to us as they are to a politician or a popular movement.
Perhaps it’s the word “propaganda” itself, with all its accompanying connotations, which stops us thinking of ourselves as propagandists? This exhibition demonstrates masterfully the positive as well as the not so positive uses of propaganda. If we approach it with an open mind, there’s a great deal here for healthcare communicators to learn – what could you take away from it?
Propaganda, Power and Persuasion runs until 17 September 2013 at the British Library, London.